Julius Caesar

My comments are mainly about the already existing comments which are nonsensical. Firstly, someone writes that it is a goof that Caesar claims to be a descendant of Venus, and that Venus is the Greek name, whereas the roman is Aphrodite. THAT is not the case: Venus is the roman name, and Aphrodite the Greek. Anyone with the slightest knowledge of mythology can tell you that.One should not write what one does not know about.

Secondly, there is a grave error in the summary: Brutus is NOT the nephew of Caesar but of Cato. Caesar had a very famous grand nephew named Gaius Octavian, aka Emperor Augustus, who is not depicted in the film but mentioned in the end credits.

I think it is OK for TV movie, but like most Roman films the "liberties" with historical facts annoys me. Still, it is far more correct than most of its ilk. A bit rushed at times, but fairly entertaining if you're into roman history.

Julius Caesar is another mini series by the DeAngelis Group. Like some of their other Producions one sees a few well know actors, such as Richard Harris and Christopher Walken , as well as some local actors of Germany and Italy(Heino Ferch, Tobias Moretti).

The picture itself, even not indepth to the real Caesar story, gives an nice picture of the times of the roman empire. Nice acting, as well as a well combined cast, give a nice viewing pleasure.

Jeremy Sisto gives a new angel to a few on Caesar,Chris Noth (Sex & the City) gives a very good performance and Harris plays a Sulla, which you enjoy dying.

All in all, the about 3 hour mini series is a nice evening view for the family, bringing love, war/action as well as history into your living room.

more to entertain than to inform and, sadly it fails to do the former. in 82 BC when the film opens Caesar (born 100 BC) was 18, yet they would have you believe that he had an eight year old daughter. also seems to be an unknown which was not the case. as for Cato, he appears to be years older than Caesar in the film yet in reality was three years younger.

also to clarify another reviewer's comments; Cato was Brutus's uncle. he--Cato--shared a mother with Servillia, the mother of Brutus. she was the sister of Livius Drusus, the tribune of the plebeians who was assassinated around 108. her original husband, Caepio father of Servillia, was killed in the east. she then took up with M. Porcius Cato's father. according to Plutarch, Sulla died after having relinquished the office of dictator and retired to the countryside to spend the end of his days in total debauchery.

also missing from the film is Crassus and Cicero. to omit these characters is akin to omitting w.t. Sherman and Jefferson Davis from any story about the civil war. as a result the movie is careless in its regard for history. one of the early scenes in the movie involving the pirates is so ignorant of history as to make the viewer throw up their hands in disgust and say 'why was the primary text ignored?' the story of Caesar and the pirates is one of the best stories of his life and it was not given any justice. if one would be interested in roman history i strongly suggest reading up on the harrowing tale of Caesar and the pirates. in the end this movie was in terms of historical accuracy below even the HBO series Rome which was also fairly free in its interpretation of roman history but much more entertaining.

The basic sin of this mini serie is to be too long and too short in same measure. You expect see Cicero and Crassus. You expect see a rich content about pirates . You expect see some historical accuracies. You expect see...

But the good point is the honest job of the actors. And the Ides of Mars . But nothing more or else or promising. Sure, I understand the desire of Udi Edel to meke a film about Julius Caesar. I do not understand the resulted massacre. Because the subject is real generouse. Because the death of Caesar seems a sort of punch in stomach. Too early, too forced. Because the make up, against good intentions, is awful. Because the actor deserve better dialogues and stronger roles. But , sure, it is a try. Not convincing, maybe reasonable for part of public.

I was looking forward to this mini series since I had read it was being filmed. Julius Caesar is a magnificent historical person, a film like this was long overdue.

Well, I have to say, I didn't like the first part much until Vercingetorix showed up. The historical facts were severely mutilated, although the costumes and scenery looked fine and the actors did good jobs. Then came the Gaul's leader. In my opinion Vercingetorix was the best part in the script, well written and impressively acted by Heino Ferch. I hadn't cared much for the other characters, but the wild haired and heavily tattooed Gaul (a big thank you to the make up department) broke the ice. When he appeared, the story suddenly got some interesting action. I cared for him, although I knew he would have to die in the end.

The second part then was better, there was more tension building up and the Ides of March were dawning. The inevitable murder of Caesar was well choreographed, I only missed Marc Anthony's speech at Caesar's funeral. Jeremy Sisto's performance was okay, he changed believably from young father to older dictator. The supporting cast, consisting of excellent actors from different countries, worked together as a convincing ensemble, yet some actors (Sean Pertwee for instance) hadn't enough screen time to show their normal acting talent. Pity.

I can recommend this mini series to everybody who loves action scenes with lots of Roman soldiers and definitely to fans of Heino Ferch. My rate: 8 out of 10.